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House suspends Joint Rule 12 to refer multiple Senate petitions, including age-waiver request and sick-leave banks
Summary
The House, by suspending Joint Rule 12, referred several petitions received from the Senate to relevant committees. Petitions included a request to direct the Department of State Police to waive a maximum age requirement for Jonathan Lewis and petitions to establish sick leave banks for named employees.
The Massachusetts House suspended Joint Rule 12 and referred multiple petitions received from the Senate to the appropriate committees.
The clerk read petitions from the Senate, including one by Senators Nick Collins and Russell E. Holmes requesting legislation to direct the Department of State Police to waive the maximum age requirement for Jonathan Lewis, and a petition by Senator Patrick M. O’Connor seeking legislation to establish a sick leave bank for Irene O’Rourke, an employee of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services. The clerk said these petitions were received "with the endorsement" and were referred under suspension of Joint Rule 12.
A motion to suspend the rules was moved (transcript: "Mister Wong and Saugus now move suspension of the rules"). The presiding officer called the voice vote and announced, "The ayes have it. Joint rule 12 is suspended." The House then concurred on the referrals.
The House also considered a committee-on-rules report recommending suspension of Joint Rule 12 on a petition by Mark J. Cusack to authorize automated curb enforcement and improve parking violation procedures, and referred that matter to the Committee on Transportation.
Why it matters: Suspending Joint Rule 12 allows the House to accept and act on Senate-originated petitions without the delay that full rule compliance might otherwise impose. The petitions include a mix of personnel-specific requests and policy proposals that will now go to committee review.
Formal actions: The transcript records suspension of Joint Rule 12 by voice vote and the referral of the listed petitions to the committees named in the reading. The House "concurred" as recorded. No roll-call tallies or subsequent committee reviews are included in the excerpt.
Ending: The referrals set the petitions on the committees' dockets; the transcript does not record committee deliberations or outcomes on the petitions.
